Body Beat

Here are a few good tips on how to care for your body with natural, effective, and inexpensive remedies.

Cold feet?

Sprinkle a pinch of ground cayenne pepper into your socks. It will warm your feet without burning them. Be very careful not to allow the pepper to touch eyes, nose or other mucous membranes, as it will feel uncomfortably hot there.

Sweet relief

A 4,000-year-old remedy for minor cuts, scrapes, and burns is sugar. Use a paste of white granulated sugar and water on nonbleeding cuts. The sugar cleanses, speeds healing, and reduces scarring.

Chicle your teeth

When you can't brush or floss your teeth after a meal, try chewing sugarless gum. Wait five minutes after the meal and don't chew for more than a few minutes. The gum chewing stimulates saliva secretion, which squeezes between teeth and zaps tooth decay acids.

Blemish blaster

Gently massage a paste of baking soda and warm water over blemished areas. The baking soda absorbs oils and helps maintain the skin's pH balance. Rinse with water. Apply hydrogen peroxide (3%) with a cotton ball. Hydrogen peroxide is a disinfectant which will turn blackheads white.

Milky mask

Apply milk of magnesia in layers over your face if you have problems with oily skin. Let it dry for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly. The liquid magnesium absorbs oil and disinfects.